Thomas Nast illustrated reconciliation after the Civil War. Through the talented pencil of staff illustrator Michael Hogue, contributing columnist Talmage Boston imagines how he might illustrate America’s divided political situation today.(Michael Hogue)With the election eight months away, and contempt between adversaries locked in, millions have now chosen to reject the Founding Fathers’ goal of e pluribus unum and, with it, the ideal that we should do what it takes to pursue unity amid conflicting factions.

So what would it take? To answer that question, a picture may be worth a thousand words.